Joint-closure.



M. J. DONER.

JOINT CLOSURE.

APPLIGATIOH FILED IEB.7, 1912.

1,100,233. Patented June 16,1914.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

MARTIN J. DONER, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

JOINT-CLOSURE.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, MARTIN J. DONER, a citizen of the United States and resident of Chicago, in the county of (look and State of 111111015, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in J dint-Closures, of

- which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in joint closures and has among its salient objects to provide a construction for closing and covering the joint between two meeting members in such a way that contraction or expansion of the meeting members due to weathering conditions will not affect the joint closure; to provide a construction of the above character which insures a smooth and even surface at the joint at all times regardless of said expansion or contraction; to provide a construction in which the joint closure is rigidly secured in place independ ent of said frame members; to provide a construction which can be readily and economically constructed out of a single strip of sheet metal; and in general to provide an improved construction of the character referred to. j

The invention consists in the matters hereinafter described and more particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawings-Figure 1 is a front elevation of a sectional screen e uipped with my invention, parts being bro en away to show details of construction; Fig. 2 is a detailed sectional view taken on lines 2-2 of Fig. 1 and looking in the direction of the arrows; Fig. 3 is a fragmentary perspective view of the joint closure.

I am aware that numerous devices have been heretofore patented and used for closing the joints of roofs, bridges and the like, but none of them combine the advantages of the present invention with simplicity and economy in construction and manufacture.

,My joint closure is applied to a screen for reflecting moving pictures or other projected scenes, although in its broader aspect the invention is not limited to such use. Screens of the character referred to are frequently relatively large while at the same time they must be light in we ght and economical in construction. Accordingly, it has been found necessary to build these screens u from a plurality of sections, the frames 0 the screens being bolted together or otherwise secured to each other. Difliculty however, has been experienced in Specification of Letters Patent. Application filed February 7, 1912. Serial No. 675,953.

Patented June 16, 1914.

maintaining, a closed oint'betwe'en the meeting edges of the sections as the boards or other material of which the sections are formed expand or contract due to changes in the weather. While this contraction or expansion is relatively small it nevertheless 1s suflicient to destroy the symmetry of the reflected picture. The present invention as heretofore stated overcomes this difliculty.

Referring now to the drawings-1 designates as a. whole a screen for reflecting pictures and comprising a plurality of independent sections 2, 3, 4: and 5 respectively. Each of these sect-ions comprises an outer frame work 6 united by a plurality of diagonally disposed ribs 7, 7 to which are nailed as shown at 9, a board 8preferably a paper board or so-called Beaver board is used. The edges of the board are not nailed or secured to the meeting edges 6 of the sections as is shown more clearly in Fig. 2. The meeting edges of the frames are bolted together as shown at 10 so that the sections when united form a single frame structure. It will however, be noted that the boards 8 of each sectional frame do not abut against each other when the sections are united but leave a joint or crack 11. This joint is closed by means of my improved joint closure designated as a whole 12. In the present instance there are four of these members which cover the joints between the meeting edges of the sectional frame. Each of these members comprise an inverted head portion 13 forming a longitudinally extending channel 14! and laterally extending wings or flanges 15. The head of the closure member extends between the meeting edges of the boards 8 and is secured to the frame member 6 by a plurality of nails 16. The wings 15 over-lap the adjacent edges of the boards 8 and are preferably slightly inset in the upper faces of the latter as shown at 17 As is seen in Fig. 3 the wings 15 are inclined slightly downwardly and when the closure is secured in position the wings will obviously be drawn to a horizontal position. The purpose of the inclined wings is to prevent them from projecting u wardly at the edges when the head is force tion. After the joint closures are secured in place the channels 1 1 are filled with putty or other suitable material as shown at 18,

so as to present a smooth surface so that the outer face of the screen presents a smooth surface. Preferably the boards are then into posiprovided with a finishing coat as shown at 19 in order to obtain a smooth reflecting surface. As can clearly be seen in Fig. 2 the boards 8 can contract or expand slightly without destroying the smooth flat surface of the screen.

The joint closures may be made of relatively thin metal and are inset in the face of the board merely sufliciently to obtain a smooth surface.

If desired the heads of the nails may be so made as to serve as anchors for the putty or other filler although this is not necessary.

In its broader'aspect the invention is not limited to the details of construction shown, except as set forth in the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. The combination with a frame structure, of boards secured to one side of said frame structure with their proximate edges unsecured thereto and spaced apart to form an 0 en joint, a oint closure formed from a sing e strip of sheet metal and comprising a channel-shaped head portion lying within said open joint and a pair of flat lateral wings downwardly inclined from their junction with said head portion to their free edges and overlying but unsecured to the proximate edges of said boards, and fastening means passing through said head portion and into said frame structure and operating to draw said wings into a common plane parallel with the plane of said boards.

2. The combination with a frame structure, of boards secured to one side of said frame structure with their proximate edges unsecured thereto and spaced apart to form an open joint, a joint closure formed from a single strip of sheet metal and comprising a channel-shaped head portion lying within proximate edges of said boards, fastening means passing through said head portion and into said frame structure and operating to draw said wings into a common plane parallel with the plane of said boards, and a filling for said head portion flush with the outer surfaces of said wings.

3. The combination with a frame structure, of boards secured to said frame struc ture with their proximate edges unsecured thereto and spaced apart to form an open joint, a joint closure formed from a single strip of sheet metal and comprising a channel shaped head portion lying within said open joint and a pair of fiat lateral wings inclined from their junction with said head portion to their free edges and overlying but unsecured to the proximate edges of said boards, and fastening means passing through said head portion and into said frame structure and operating to draw said wings to- Ward substantial parallelism with the planes of the boards they respectively overlie.

MARTIN J. DONER.

Witnesses:

C. F. DYNEs, J. M. Low. 

